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I just had a 2nd reminder from my vet to have my dog checked for heartworm and ticks. We live in the city and she's on Interceptor Plus, so I'm wondering if these tests are overkill?
Thoughts?
Absolutely a necessity. Heartworm is expensive to treat, but it's less likely to be deadly if it's caught early. Same with any tick-borne diseases.
Contact your vet to see if it's in your area. Heartworms are transmitted by infected dogs via mosquitos. Maybe with the lift in Covid travels dogs in your area have been in Warm Climents!
I live in NY and I know someone whose dog got heartworm. If you have mosquitos and ticks, your dog can get heartworm or tick-borne diseases.
I would err on the side of caution and get the test done. It's not that expensive (at least not where I live) and the meds are $26/mo for one dog (where I live). A once a month chew. That's for Simparica Trio, a rather expensive but very effective drug. It treats Fleas, Ticks and Heartworm. I only administer it 8 months per year (winters and cold weather off). For one dog I have to crush it into his food, but the other one will eat the chew (it's kind of dry and crunchy). A friend of mine gets her pet meds from Canada. I'm looking into that.
I called the vet and since she's on flea, tick and heartworm protection, there's no need to have the bloodwork done.
Thanks everyone for your input.
A vet (corporate owned clinic, if that makes a difference) told me once the manufacturer of the product required the tests as part of their 'guarantee'. Made me sign a form that I'd declined the test.
We changed vets shorty after that, largely as result of the changes after going corporation owned.
I'm happy my dog got the snap test for heart worm a few years ago, although he was on the preventative, as he somehow managed to catch it and could be treated once he was diagnosed by proper bloodwork.
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